Tourisme
by I've Been a Labrat
Summary: Charles drops by Paris one week, plucking his son from Gabrielle's grasp for a day to take him sightseeing.


_I come bearing another story about David. It turned out more bitter than I meant, and more of an exploration into Charles's thoughts than David's._

_Thank you to NotMarge and No Name Anime Fan for leaving reviews!_

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_**Paris, 1961**_

David could hardly contain his excitement… well, alright, that wasn't the truth. He literally could not contain himself at all. He was far too eager to reach their destination, and he wriggled in the backseat of the car. He was babbling nonsensically, his thoughts even too jumbled and incoherent for him to think clearly, let alone speak as such.

Daddy had dropped by the apartment so suddenly that Mum couldn't refuse his insistence that David come with him for the day. Aunt Raven had been there, and she'd crouched down and spread her arms wide so he could leap into her grasp. He'd been so happy to see her and Daddy, if not completely surprised, and he'd been even happier to hear they were going to go out for the day. Just the three of them, no Mum or Daniel Shomron. Daddy'd picked him up and gave Mum a nod before turning on his heel and walking out. David had blinked a little, unused to the bustle and hustle of the city where he lived. He was always inside unless Daddy came, like now, to take him outside and to see different things.

"Where's the Eiffel Tower?" Charles asked, prompting David to at least point. He hoped the small boy hadn't forgotten after living with Gabrielle day in and day out.

He remembered it. A big triangle shaped tower that was famous all over the world. He looked around, biting his lip as he thought. No, that wasn't it. Not that either. Wait… Was that it?

Raising his arm, he pointed off to their right, squinting. "Far," he mumbled, wishing the tower was closer so he could see better.

"Well, darling, you're in luck," Charles told him, having sensed in the boy's mind his desire to see the tower himself. "Among several other things, we're going to see it today, because your Aunt Raven has been begging me since she was very small to go see it."

Raven lightly pushed her brother, giving him and her nephew a fond smile. "Sure, blame it all on me."

That had been a little while ago, and David jerked his head up when they stopped. Daddy tugged him out of the car, though he instructed David to walk and hold onto his hand. Pointing upward, David followed the gesture, head tilting all the way back as his mouth dropped open. So far back that the hat he'd put on, covering his blue hair, fell off. Bending down quickly, Charles retrieved it, tucking it back over his son's hair and steadfastly ignoring the look Raven gave him. Tugging on David's hand, he lead the way up the tower, as far up as they could go.

David hated heights, he hated heights, and frankly so did Raven. But he was determined to swallow his irrationality and show his son it could be worth it for the amazing view. He'd seen it once, when he was about David's age and his father brought him here before…

Looking up at his father, David stuck himself to Daddy's pant leg like glue, nostrils flaring as his eyes widened even further and his heart beat faster than it likely should in such a small boy. Making a small whining noise, he buried his face in the tweed, relaxing only slightly when his father rubbed his back and neck.

_I promise you, it's perfectly safe._

David struggled with words even in his head, and couldn't begin to figure out how to project them back at Daddy when he could barely think to himself in words. He settled on pictures, feelings, as he always did. Flashes of the tower suddenly tipping over and them falling onto the ground so far below. The floor beneath their feet developing spidery cracks and then collapsing in large chunks.

_Would I bring you up here if I didn't think it was safe?_

Another flash of the falling tower, though uncertain this time. He whimpered, not daring to bring his face out to look at the view, even as Aunt Raven urged him to and oohed and aahed over the scenery. "It's incredible!"

_I'll protect you. Nothing is going to happen._

A brief depiction of them leaning on the railing and it giving way so they fell.

_Darling, no need to be morbid, you're only a little boy._ Charles internally frowned, plastering a comforting smile on his face and pulling the hat off his son's head so he could stroke the blue hair. At the same time, he was meticulously masking the blue from everyone around them, save Raven. He made them think it was brown, or simply hinted not to look at David at all. He couldn't begin to imagine, because it pained him, what would happen if the wrong person discovered his sister or his son was different. Abnormal. So he hid them, as the only surefire way to keep them out of danger. Gabrielle, however… well, he'd done a _fine_ job keeping David out of danger from her, hadn't he? He quickly buried his bitterness, before the small boy clinging to him could sense anything, and smiled down at David again. "Come on, just a look, then we can get back on solid ground."

David's reluctance seeped through to his mind like a drink spilled on carpet, and he had no qualms about planting suggestions in David's mind to cheer up a little. Nothing to convince David to actually do as he asked, no. He'd never take away his son's free will like that, never would abuse his power with his own child. But he couldn't resist helping his son feel a little less fearful, more excited to see the world.

The small boy took a step forward, propelled by some sudden desire to see for himself what all the fuss was about, and Charles patiently inched toward the railing with him. Lifting David into his arms-grunting a little with the effort, he wasn't in shape-he held him tightly and murmured quietly to him. Assuring him it was alright, he wouldn't drop him, not ever. _Look at the view, look at the city before you. See that? The whole city, you could do with as you wished. The whole world is at your fingertips._ David reached out with his father's encouragement, arm outstretched to the skyline and city. _You are the next generation. You can change things, even slightly. No matter how ridiculous it might sound, how hopeless it might seem, you can change even one person about something, every day. The world is your paper, you are the pen. Make something._

As they gazed out at the Parisian skyline, Raven leaning against her brother's side, Charles sighed. He was content here, the two people he held claim for as being his family. The two people he cared about and loved the most. Even though David wasn't always with him, he could still feel the boy in his mind, all the time. As he took rapidfire notes during lectures, sat bent over his thesis, made tea, went to the restaurant where Raven worked and teased her by tipping her exorbitant amounts while he got progressively drunker. He could always feel David, the soft glow he represented in Charles's periphery. When he fully turned to face that glow, it morphed into an image of the little boy he'd helped create, who he'd fallen in love with the moment he took the newborn into his arms at a mere seventeen years old.

At the same time, night and day, he felt his son so horribly sorrowful and pained. He was almost six, for the love of God. He should be happy and easily get past anything. Gabrielle made his life miserable, rather than caring for him and protecting him as a mother should. His heart ached just as much as it soared when he thought of David. _But I digress. At least he's safe right now, with me. At least I can give him these few happy memories, until I can find some way to keep him with me. Forever._


End file.
